Rue: Safe For Now

I sit in the tree crouched on a branch so that I'm almost completely hidden from sight. It would take someone looking specifically for me to see me and I'm sure no one here is. I'm small and quiet which in here is both a blessing and a curse. For now it is my relief, the thing keeping me alive. No one is searching for the tiny girl from District 11. I think about home for a minute; memories of the sweet tones of a mockingjay playing in my head. They have mockingjays here too but to sing for them would be to invite death. I don't want to die. It's a thought that has run through my head countless times since my name was called at the Reaping. I know it's a useless wish though. The odds are not in favour even before you consider my size. I remember telling Caesar in the interview that I'm hard to catch and its true but how long can I keep running before I run out of food? Not to mention the gamekeepers probably won't let me hide out forever. For now I can and I focus on that as the Panem Anthem plays across the arena and the day's death tally is shown. I've survived another day and that's one more than a lot of people. I pull my extra socks onto my hands and let my eyes close.